Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro Re-elected For Six Years

Nicolas Maduro was on May 20, 2018 re-elected as President of Venezuela for a second six-year tenure with 67.7 per cent of the vote amidst a record abstention rate of 46 per cent. His opponent, Henri Falcon, who received 21.2 per cent of votes, complained of irregularities and called for fresh polls. Despite the electoral victory, Maduro’s greatest challenges are fixing the ailing economy and biting poverty, resolving social tensions, reuniting the politically-fragmented polity after an opposition boycott of the vote, and securing international recognition – especially by the West.